With tonight's opponent (Golden State) having been off for five days the Pistons will need as many healthy bodies as possible to contend with the Warrior's helter-skelter style of play. That likely means playing time for Hunter, who has yet to appear in a game this season. "We just want to get him (Hunter) out there, to do what he does," Saunders said. "Defend for us, knock down open shots, get us in our offense ... give us three or four really good minutes."

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I am wondering about what Flip is thinking and how his thinking process works. What can a player possibly accomplish in 3 or 4 minutes??? I wonder if he's thinking that by giving Arron and Amir 5 minutes in a game gives them enough playing experience to grow their games? Heck, if my math is correct 5 minutes is more than 50% longer than 3 minutes.

Antonio McDyess re-aggravated the stretched ligaments in his left shoulder and had to leave the game with 6:30 left. X-rays taken afterward were negative, but he was in great pain and questionable for Wednesday's game against the Golden State Warriors.

Billups sat in the locker room Tuesday night with ice bags on both his right hip and left knee. The hip injury, believed to be a bone bruise, came courtesy of a Channing Frye knee. Billups later twisted his left knee.

"We won't know anything until closer to game time," coach Flip Saunders said. "We will just have to see."

If they can't play, the Pistons probably will start Flip Murray at point guard and either Jason Maxiell or Jarvis Hayes at power forward. The Warriors deploy a small lineup, so the Pistons could get by with Hayes up front.

Good, let the reserves play. Hopefully Amir can finally get on the court, that is if Lindsey won't eat up all of his allotment. I just don't get it, does it take injuries to the starters to force Flip to play bench?

So far at halftime, the Warriors are winning the track meet 64-51. GSW scored 40 in the first and got up to 20 point lead, but Pistons close the half on 14-5 run to make it respectable. Warriors made 8 "uncontested treys".

Amir saw a little over 8 mis in the second scoring 3 pts and grabbing 3 boards and an assist. He was a +6 and the only Piston on the positive side

Wow, what a win! I bailed out of chat in the 2nd quarter with the Pistons getting destroyed by 20. No defense, no rebounding, no nothing as the Ws got whatever they wanted. As if on cue, the Pistons made a little run to end the half once I left chat, and they kept it going in the 2nd half all the way to the win. Props to Flip Jr for dishing out 12 assists, Rasheed for taking over in the 4th, and Tay with a big 2nd half as well to help key the comeback.

The weird thing about this game was how utterly ice cold the Warriors got in the 2nd half. Flip Sr. stuck with the zone all the way, and even though GS was still getting a lot of good looks in the 2nd half, they were simply unable to knock them down. The key improvement on D for the Pistons after halftime was that their rebounding picked up big-time, limiting the Warriors to very few 2nd chance points after getting slaughtered in that category in the 1st half.

Hopefully CB at least can come back healthy to key the finish to what might still shape up as a very good West coast swing. But the Lakers have been playing a lot of good ball recently.

Here is the thing about Flip Murray. His A-game is about 100 times greater than Nazr's A-game. They should not be lumped in the same category anymore.

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These open court games are probably the ones where he has the highest value, particularly if we're talking about games where he's starting, like we saw at Phoenix last season. You still have to live with some bonehead mistakes, but there are so many possessions available for him to create or get to the rim that he can still be a pretty big positive factor.

For the record, us playing our young guys still has not cost us a game. Anyone out there disagree?

Tonight, Amir got his most ever important minutes in a real game, one that matters. And Afflalo was in there with him as we started our climb back in the 2nd quarter. And both should have gotten more still. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Amir got a co-block on one end, fed Afflalo inside who turned and hit the shot. Good stuff, and Afflalo also made two free throws right there. Result: Flip Saunders pulled them both out of the game. We were just 3 behind, and we went down ten after that. Also, Flip could have used Afflalo a lot in the first half, instead of having Flip Murray spectate as Davis killed us. Adjustments? The biggest by far was to put Tay on Davis in the 2nd half.

Though Flip Murray as usual was horrid on D, he was part of a very good run in the 3rd quarter, where our defense held. I see someone said he had 12 assists. And he scored a lot too, including a pair of time expiring shots at the end of quarters. Perfect, no, but not that much to complain about altogether on the offensive end for Murray tonight. Hunter played some, not bad. But he was just as useless guarding Davis as Flip was in the first half.

Tay was our scoring hero in the 3rd, with 10 points. This was inside and out. Remember an earlier game where Tay missed some shots? That was practice, and that practice paid off tonight.

Sheed took it over in the 4th, hitting 3's but just as importantly working the post to with great results. Does not hurt that the other team has to contend with a certain fireball of energy named Jason Maxiell too. Jason was pretty awesome in this one. He was the only Piston gathering in offensive rebounds early. He hit some outside shots, he made those two clutch free throws late, 10 defensive rebounds, darn good D. 14 points (or 13?).

Amir's only offensive highlight was a delayed fast break dunk. He did make a pair of free throws too after fighting for a rebound and getting fouled.

Hayes hit a shot, and he kept Tay off the floor for a good spell in the 2nd quarter. It all helps. I don't recall him playing much in the 2nd half though.

For much of the game, Rip just could not hit a shot, but that changed late in the 4th as we finished GS off. Rip's a shooter, and he must keep on shooting. (But maybe he could slow it down just a bit when a teammate is in can't miss mode, or when we are destroying the other team by going inside.)

It was sure nice to see JMAX go inside on them very early in the game. Gee, we could have that every game. Just a coach's decision away. (Dyess did have the one monster shooting game, but remember, he was unguarded - unless you actually think Kaman represents a defender - not)

Mohammed played. Why I could not tell you. It has been mentioned that we cut 2 points off the lead with him in for a minute or two early the 4th. Does not sound like much to me.

Its hard to believe anyone would fret over us missing two starters. Considering how inept Flip Saunders is at finding time for our young guys, the more starters missing the better for now. Afflalo and Amir have to play. JMAX must play more. That all happened tonight, which makes it not just a good win, but a very good game indeed as to what matters, preparation for the playoffs. If Dyess wants to really help the team, and same for Billups, they will take their sweet time coming back from their injuries.

Lee, first off you are gansta for the late night write-up. I don't know how accurate it is to say that the lead went to 10 when they took Amir out. To me it was when Sheed went to the bench that the lead (re-)swelled. Also, didn't they put Maxey back in at that point?

I think Big Flip did a nice job tonight. I don't know what adjustments he should have made sooner. You can't play zone for a whole game. It'll get picked apart. I would have like to seen him argue the lane violation a little more. The game was close though.

TaShawn, you are right about Flip. I can't figure his turnovers out. It's not like he's trying to imitate Hot Sauce, he just goes straight and loses the ball. In a lot of ways he bothers me the least of their guards.

I would like to think these injuries could be a blessing. I thought the same thing after playing in Phoenix lasat year also though. I was surprised by how few AA and MJ actually played. It seemed like they were out there longer. MJ might have a role this year - they can use his exuberance, but AA should definitely play. If he can't find his way onto the floor, then none of these coaches are worth spit. (Man am I glad I didn't start a fight with someone on my walk to work the morning after the draft!)

After seeing MJ in real games this year what does everyone think, is MJ 6'9" or 6'!!"? I go with the former.

Also, what do you make of Sheed's T's? He has done the same stuff this year as any other to earn at least some of the BS ones. Either the refs must be aware heading into games how many T's a players has in a current year when they ponder the calls or they have backed off because of the Donaghy stuff.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lee356 Amir's only offensive highlight was a delayed fast break dunk. He did make a pair of free throws too after fighting for a rebound and getting fouled. I guess the wire services got it wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.

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Originally Posted by Buddahfan Isn't fighting an ejectable offense? Might be without Dysse and MJ for the Lakers.